Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 2nd, 2025–Feb 3rd, 2025

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

North Rockies, Sugarbowl, Kakwa, McGregor.

Strong east winds are reverse-loading the recent storm snow in exposed areas.

Slab avalanches remain reactive to riders.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several Na and human-triggered size 2 avalanches have been reported since Friday. The avalanches are releasing on surface hoar below the storm snow. This MIN from the Pass Lake area is a good example of how touchy this problem is.

Snowpack Summary

Exposed areas are heavily wind-affected. Up to 50 cm of new snow has fallen since Wednesday. The new snow is bonding poorly to old snow surfaces, which include a melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes, large surface hoar and/or facets on shaded slopes, and wind-affected snow in exposed terrain at ridgelines.

A widespread crust with facets and/or surface hoar, buried in mid-January, is approximately 60 to 120 cm below the surface.

The lower snowpack is well-settled.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Mostly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -27 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. 20 to 50 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -26 °C.

Tuesday

Scattered cloud. 30 to 60 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -20 °C.

Wednesday

Few clouds. 10 to 20 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -20 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind-exposed terrain.
  • Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
  • Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.